Games to play on long car journeys

Our family recently drove from Stirling in Scotland to Salisbury - IN ONE DAY! We had two short breaks for food and you-know-what, but the rest was straight driving. I don't know about you, but we got bored with I Spy many years ago, so when our son asked to play a car game, I was a bit stumped. Fortunately, or unfortunately (you'll get that joke a bit further on) my son had loads of ideas from school. Read on for 5 of my son's car games, plus a few I've found on the internet since. Hopefully you'll find something that works for your kids.

1. Fortunately/Unfortunately

Take turns to tell a story one sentence at a time, but after the opening sentence, each sentence must start with Fortunately or Unfortunately in turn. Eg, Player 1: 'The Astronaut climbed into his space rocket ready to blast off to the moon'. Player 2: 'Unfortunately it failed to launch'. Player 3: 'Fortunately the technicians were able to fix it and soon he was on his way'. etc etc. It's amazing how long you can keep going for and how funny this game can be. The game ends when you run out of ideas.

2. Buzz

Level 1: Count to 100, but say 'Buzz' for every multiple of 5.

Level 2: Count to 100, but say 'Buzz for every multiple of 5 and 'Fizz' for every multiple of 7.

Harder than it sounds!

3. The Dog ate my Homework

Blatantly stolen from the CBBC programme, passengers in the car come up with 3 or 4 random words, which all have to be woven into one excuse as to why you couldn't hand in your homework. The player whose turn it is starts their excuse with....'I did my homework, but I couldn't hand it in because.....'

4. Word Endings

Choose a letter of the alphabet and find objects outside the car that end in that letter. Some letters are easier than others!

5. Colours

Pick a colour each and see who can be the first to spot 10 vehicles in that colour. Black, Grey, Silver and White are not allowed. Handy hint: don't pick pink or purple if you want to win! Another handy hint: pick red or green if you do want to win!